


Broken Bones

by Zapticuno



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 08:02:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27649957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zapticuno/pseuds/Zapticuno
Summary: A girl who was found and raised by Guzma finds a brand-new Pokémon while on a trip to one of the Alolan islands. She becomes it's trainer-despite having never trained any Pokemon before, and she learns how she can do the best she can depite her lack of confidence.
Kudos: 8





	Broken Bones

**Author's Note:**

> I am a very slow writer, so I can't guarantee when I'll update, but I'll try to update this fic as often as possible!  
> Also, while the prologue here is in third person, the rest of the fic will be in first!

The young girl slowly packed things into a small drawstring bag in the early Alolan morning hours. Some clothes. A blanket. Snacks she had stashed in her room. A water bottle. Glancing around, she thought of what final item she could put in the bag, for there was a little room left. Her eyes landed on a slightly worn Wimpod slush, and it made its way into the bag.   
  


The girl was not packing for some fun vacation, or a hike through the woods. No, she was running away. Her mother was very strict, oftentimes going into fits of rage and beating the girl. The night prior, the girl had lied about having cleaned the floor, and this had set her mother off. She beat the girl with the metal handle of a broom until she was bruised and bloody all over. The only reason her father didn’t stop this from happening is because he is rarely ever around, often working over in other regions. This time was the last time. The girl had been planning on leaving for a while, but this was the last time she would deal with this. No more would she go through the torture her mother put her through. No more.

When everything was packed, the girl had to change her clothes, for they were the same from when she was beaten, and they were covered in blood and torn in places. She also rinsed off the blood the best she could from her face and arms. Thankfully it wasn’t as bad in those places; most of her wounds were on her back. She didn’t need people asking what happened. She put on a hooded jacket so she could cover her face and arms better.The girl peaked out of her room, glancing back and forth to see if her mother was up. No sign, no sound. Opening her window, she slung the bag over her shoulder and managed to get out despite her whole-body soreness. However, when she hit the ground a couple feet below, she let out a yelp. She covered her mouth and stayed where she was, worried that her mother may have heard her. After about a minute, though, nothing changed, no sign of an angry mother’s flame reignited.

The girl went around to the front of the house and stepped onto the empty street. No one else had stirred yet, and it was so early the sun was only just beginning to shed its light. She made her way in the direction of the Mele Mele docks, because she knew there would be a ferry headed to one of the other Alolan islands, which one it would be, she had no idea, but it didn’t matter. She had to get off of this island.   
  
By the time she reached the docks, the sun had already risen above the horizon. People were filing onto the ferry, and the girl slipped in among them. She kept her head low and pulled the hood over her head. People would likely think she was the child of one of the adults on the ferry, not a runaway. As she waited for the ferry to pull out, her heart rate quickened, and her gut began to fill with Butterfrees. Would her mom come looking for her? Would her attempt at freedom be cut short? Thankfully, a more reliveling answer came after a couple minutes when the ferry began to leave the dock.

How much time passed, the girl didn’t know, but eventually the ferry pulled up to the docks of another island, and people started to get off. The girl went with the crowd. As the crowd began to dissipate, the girl wandered off, meandering through town, through woods. Eventually she found herself at an abandoned supermarket, and it was well past noon by that time. The girl entered the building and sat herself down on an empty crate. She was tired and hungry, so she pulled out a bottle of water and a granola bar from her bag, along with the Wimpod plush, which she set in her lap. Her entire body was sore, and it felt like the wounds on her back had opened up once more.Worry began to build as she had her meager meal. What was she thinking, running away? What would she do now? Tossing the wrapper aside, the girl clutched the plushie close to her chest and broke into tears, her body shaking.

_ What was I thinking? _ She asked herself, over and over and over in her head.  _ Why? _

~~~~~~~

Guzma was taking a walk outside of Po Town, needing to clear his head. Why wouldn’t he want a break from the grunts? Yeah, they were great and all, but they could really get on one’s nerves. Anyway, the day was nice and sunny, warm, but not too hot. It was a nice break from the dreariness of Po Town. He wasn’t thinking of any specific destination, but his feet brought him towards the old supermart. He had been there before, of course- many times he went there to clear his head, so it was no surprise that was where he ended up going. However, just outside the door to enter, he stopped. Was that sobbing that he was hearing? Yes, he was sure of it. But who could it be? 

Guzma stepped through the opened door, walking towards where he heard the sobbing from. Rounding a corner, he saw who was making the sound: a young girl wearing a hoodie, curled in on herself, holding something close to her chest. Her whole body was racking with each sob. “Hey kid,” Guzma said in a soft voice, “you okay?” 

The girl’s head shot up, and her eyes obtained a Deerling-in-the-headlights look. She stopped sobbing, but her body still shook. “Uh, y-yeah? I’m fine,” the girl responded. Guzma didn’t believe that one bit. He walked closer to where she sat on an old crate and squatted down to be eye-to-eye. Her blue eyes were red and puffy from crying, and Guzma could see a bit of a welt peeking out on the back of her neck.  _ Damn, who did that to her?  _ He asked himself, mind flashing back to the days where he lived with his parents, when his dad would beat him. A shiver went down his spine. Was that blood he saw seeping through the hoodie? Guzma didn’t need to ask her what happened. He could figure it out himself: she’d run away from home, and it was very obvious why. But how old was she, and where did she come from? She seemed very young, younger than Guzma had been when he left home at twelve.

Guzma let out a sigh, looking the girl straight in the eyes. “Aight kid,” he started, “I know everything ain’t fine. Don’t try to tell me otherwise. But first, I’d like to know a little bit about ya, hmm? First, tell me your name, so I don’t need to keep calling you ‘kid’, then maybe age, and where you’re from? Don’t stress, I’m not plannin’ on harming ya.” 

The girl looked him over and let out a sigh before replying in a soft voice, “I’m Sophie. Sophie Cohen. From Mele Mele. Nine.” Her eyes dropped towards the floor when she finished. Guzma then noticed what the girl- Sophie - was holding: a Wimpod plush, which showed some signs of wear-and-tear, but was still in relatively good condition. 

Guzma smiled and said, “I see that plush ya got. You like Bug types?” 

Sophie nodded, “Yeah, Wimpod’s the cutest to me though. Someday I hope to have one, maybe evolve it.” Her mood seemed to lighten a bit. 

Guzma chuckled. “Well, guess what? I, Guzma, am a Bug type trainer!” he said, pointing his thumb to his chest. “And guess who my partner is?” 

Sophie sat up straight, a gleam of curiosity in her eyes. “R-really? You have a Golisopod?” she asked, “Do you… happen to have them with you?” 

Guzma laughed. “Of course! I only have Goli with me right now though, left the rest of the team at home. Wanna see them?” Sophie nodded. 

Grabbing his partner’s ball from where he had it in his jacket pocket, he pressed the button and the hulking Bug type appeared in a flash of red energy. It let out a curious  _ gwoor _ when it noticed the girl before it, and it promptly leaned down to sniff her face. She giggled, a smile going across her face. She then began to dig through her bag and pulled out a malasada. “Would it be okay i-” she began to ask before Golisopod took the treat out of her hands and devoured it in only a couple bites. Sophie giggled again as the bug searched her for more goodies.

“Well, it looks like Goli answered for me there, the greedy bug,” Guzma said with a laugh, patting his Pokemon’s head.

As Sophie fed Golisopod more snacks from her bag, on occasion eating some herself, Guzma decided he should ask the question that has been practically begging to be answered since he first saw her: “So, what happened?” 

Sophie and Golisopod both looked towards him, and the girl let out a sigh, her smile dropping, and reluctantly began to tell her story. “Last night, my mom came home. Dad wasn’t around, he’s almost always gone doing something for work. That day I was supposed to clean the floors, but I didn’t, and lied about it. My mom doesn’t like lying. I’ve done it before. She got so mad, she got the metal-handled broom, and...” she trailed off. 

“S’okay,” Guzma said, “I understand. When I was younger, my dad was the same way, gettin’ all worked up about this ‘n that, how I didn't do good enough in a battle, how I chose the worst type possible for my team. Often drank, always kept his golf clubs in the corner. Glad I high-tailed it out of there when I did. And I’m glad you got out too. I assume you got here by ferry?” Sophie nodded. “Well, the fact you were able to get here without bein’ suspected of running away is fantastic. Kudos to you, kid.” 

“Thanks, I guess,” she replied, now petting Golisopod on the head.

“Y’know,” Guzma went on, “I got a gang- more like a family, to be honest- of mostly runaway kids. We all care about each other, like we really are family. Most of the grunts are teens, but you ain’t too far off from them, being nine and all. The name of the gang’s Team Skull. We’ll take good care of ya, get you fixed up. How does it sound if ya joined up with us, hm?” 

Sophie began to smile again. “You know what, that  _ does _ sound good. Honestly, I was worried about what I was gonna do next, but, well, now I know.” 

Guzma stood up and clapped his hands together. “Fantastic! We best get to going now, so we ain’t having to walk in the dark.” Sophie stood up, put her plush into her bag, slung the bag over her shoulder, and followed Guzma out of the supermarket, with Golisopod behind her. However, it wasn’t long before she began to limp and stumble as she walked. After a bit of this, Guzma stopped and turned to her and said, “Okay, it’s obvious you’re tired, hurting, and can’t walk too well. I don’t care what you’re gonna say about it, I’m going to carry you.” Before Sophie could argue, he picked her up, one arm under her knees, the other under her arms, and handed her bag to Golisopod. 

They went this way all the way to Po Town, when Guzma finally put her down to open the gates. At that time Sophie started walking on her own, although leaning on Golisopod. Guzma decided to let her walk since she wasn’t limping or stumbling as bad. When they reached the doors of the Shady House, Guzma turned to her and said, “M’kay, since we’re here, I best tell you this now: the grunts can sometimes get a bit… rowdy, and I don’t want ya to get scared by them, okay? Just know that they’re not tryna hurt you, just trying to have fun, is all. I’ll try to keep them under control ‘till you heal up, okay?” Sophie just nodded.

They walked into the house, though no one was in the central area. Guzma called out, “Yo! Ya boy’s back! And I’ve got someone else with me for you guys to meet!” 

Suddenly the grunts came flooding down the staircases, about twenty grunts in all. When the grunts came rushing down, Sophie hid behind Guzma. “Ey boss!” several of the grunts chorused out, “Where’s the person you wanted us to meet?”

Guzma smiled and said, “She’s right behind me. Her name’s Sophie, and while she’s younger than the lot of you, she’s had it rough, so she’s joining up with the team.” He stepped aside so that the grunts could see Sophie, who simply gave a nervous wave.   
  


The grunts immediately began making comments. “How old is she?” 

“Damn, she’s small!” 

“She’s a little bit!” 

“Sure she can handle being with us? She seems to be a bit weak.” The grunts began closing in on her, and Sophie hid behind Golisopod.

Before the grunts could get much further, there was a shout from behind them, “You hooligans, cut it out! Give the boss some space!” Instantly the grunts backed off and parted ways for the woman coming through. It was Plumeria, the admin of Team Skull. She walked up to Guzma and looked toward Sophie, who peaked out from behind Golisopod. “Y’know,” the admin said, “Are you sure it’s a good idea to bring in someone her age with us, Guzma? The grunts will be a bad influence on her. Anyway, how did you even find her? I’m sure her parents are gonna want her back.” 

Guzma huffed and said, “Well, ain’t that the case with all the kids Team Skull brings in? Everyone’s a runaway, and of course their parents want them back, but they don’t get them back, because their kid ain’t gonna return to whatever hellhole they just came from. And that’s the same case with Sophie here. Her mom’s been treatin’ her like shit. Had to carry her most of the way here, she’s hurtin’ so such. Hell, I think I saw  _ blood _ seeping through the back of her hoodie. She managed to make her way here from Mele Mele, and there’s no way in hell I’m letting her go back.”

Plumeria let out a sigh. “Of  _ course  _ I didn’t want to turn her away and send her back, seeing her condition. Y’know, my biggest worry is how the grunts will influence her. She’s also younger than the rest. Hell, she doesn’t even seem to be the age most kids start training Pokemon. The grunts are all teens. Nothing too serious if they’re missing, most kids are running around at that age. Her? Normally kids her age would still be at home, not running around battling Pokemon. There’d be more concern if she were missing.”

Boss and Admin stared each other down for about a minute, and no one spoke. Finally Plumeria spoke once more, “Alright, Big G, I know you aren’t changing your mind. She can stay. You better be sure that if they come looking for her that she gets returned.”

“Ain’t that always been the case with all the grunts?” Guzma interjected.

  
“Yes, Guzma, but no one’s asked for any of the grunts before. With her it might be different. Also, try to curb the grunt’s behavior, least until she grows a bit, for obvious reasons.”   
  
“Yeah yeah, whatever Plumes. You know ya boy’s gonna treat her right, ain’t that right Soph?” Guzma said, turning towards the girl, who now stood next to Guzma and was holding her Wimpod plush once more.   
  
Sophie nodded aggressively and said, “Oh, I’m sure he’ll do  _ much  _ better than my mom ever could!” 

Guzma laughed and ruffled her hair. “Alright, welcome to the team, kid. Now, let’s get you cleaned up and settled down.”


End file.
